I've had some time this week to do some projects. I enjoy these things and I'm not used to having so much time to get them done.
First, I revamped some picture hangers. They are styrofoam squares. In LA we had them covered with fabric and I pinned fishing pictures to them. Now, I added ribbon and pictures of Christ with children and hung them in the baby's room.

Then I made a cover for our changing table pad. I found a pattern on this website

Today I made a couple of burp cloths from the extra fabric and some scraps I had.


Now the real question is, why do I spend time and care about making cute burp cloths? They are just going to get spit on!

We also got our bikes hung up. Yes, they are in the living room. We actually ride them quite a bit in the living room on the trainer though and we had no other place to put them that was out of the way. We also decided to hang Fred (the deer) in the living room. A sister missionary, serving in our ward, who is from Fiji was pretty amazed and didn't believe us that it was real.

I added some pictures at the bottom by popular request. :)

A lot can change in life in a short 8 months.

8 months ago Kirk and I were. . .
**Looking forward to my family visiting for Thanksgiving in LA.
**Kirk had 5 interviews down and one to go with no idea of where we would end up, hoping to get in to a program
**Kirk was also trying to finish up graduation requirements, prepare for a licensing exam and study for the boards
**I was teaching and really enjoying my job
**not expecting a baby (it was right before I got pregnant)
**owners of 1 car
**living in Southern California

Now we are. . .
**living in Mississippi because the magical match put us here

**Done with dental school including passing the licensing exam and the boards
**Expecting a baby boy in about a month

(not the most glamorous picture of me, but you get the idea)

**Loving the toyota matrix we bought
**I am no longer working, a big change for me, but I am learning to love the time at home and being able to nap and eat whenever I want
**missing the So Cal weather because it is 98 and really humid here every day (seriously, I don't spend time outside after 9 am unless I am walking to the car or a building)

This is obviously a time of change for us. It is challenging at times, but I think it will bring us closer together. Of course we wish we could live closer to family and we miss our friends, but I never would have guessed that I would ever live in Mississippi. I want to have a blast while I live here and make the most of every day. Sometimes that is hard to remember, but my goal to to keep trying and really enjoy life.

Looking forward 8 months from now will bring a bunch of changes too!

Moving 2000 miles across the country. . .So much fun!

Box it up

Clean it out

Wait for the moving truck. . .love the camp chairs and television!

Stuff's here, now its time to organize!

I posted about graduation below. I am in need of some baby advice too, so if you have any opions, please share!

1. Any preference on diapers? I've heard costco ones are always good. Any brands to avoid?

2. What about bottles and pacifiers? There are so many to choose from--I don't know where to start! Does it just depend on your baby's preference? Which ones should I try first?

Any help you can give would be great--otherwise I get to just guess and check my way through for a few months! I'll probably be doing that anyway though. . . As my friend told me, constant change becomes your new routine.

After 4 years, Kirk finally graduated! The last few months were pretty stressful, to the point he was thinking he may have to spend some time over the summer to finish requirements. But, luckily, he didn't and he was able to get everything done (on the day we moved.) We went to an awards banquet a few nights before graduation and he received several department awards as well as an honors medatl. Kirk's parents and brothers were able to come to stay with us for a few days and it was fun to have them there.
Here is the best shot we have of him as he walked across the stage:


The group of us (we were probably one of the smallest groups there)

Morris Brothers

Tom, Scott and Connor when we were waiting to go inside:

Yay! I'm so glad that it is over! We enjoyed our time in LA and at UCLA, but these last 6 months have been so crazy that in a way it is nice to be done and moving on to something else crazy and exciting. I am proud of Kirk and the work that he did to get this far. He is a great husband and I know that I will always be able to count on him.